Ms. Chapin had never been a follower of true crime nor, frankly, understood its appeal.
查平从来不是真实犯罪案件的爱好者,坦率地说,她也不理解犯罪案件为何让人着迷。
Over the past year, she has largely avoided most of the news coverage and public discussion of her son's murder, but in the early days of the case she got a glimpse into the power of the true crime community to galvanize and organize -- sometimes in alarming ways.
在过去一年里,她回避了关于儿子被谋杀的大多数新闻报道和公开讨论,但在案件早期,她瞥见了真实犯罪爱好者群体在激励人心和组织活动方面的力量,有时这种力量令人不安。
As word of her son's case spread via a broad network of YouTube channels, TikTok personalities and Facebook groups, true crime sleuths were captivated by the Idaho mystery, one where a killer had managed to fatally stab four people on two floors of a rental home before exiting into the night.
随着查平儿子的谋杀案在油管、TikTok网红和脸书小组构成的网络中广泛传播,真实案件侦探们被爱达荷州的这个谜团深深吸引了:一名杀手在一所出租屋的两层楼里成功刺死了四个人,然后消失在茫茫夜色里。
With no suspects emerging and police pleading for tips, thousands of online sleuths went to work. They uploaded maps of the neighborhood and floor plans of the house, and analyzed photos, including one that some thought revealed blood seeping down its outer walls.
目前没有嫌疑人出现,警方也在恳求人们提供线索,于是数千名网络侦探开始破案。他们上传了社区地图和出租屋的平面图,并分析了照片,一些人认为其中一张照片显示血从房子的外墙渗出。
They scoured social media interactions, freeze-framing a Twitch livestream video that showed two of the victims stopping at a food truck hours before they were killed.
他们搜索了社交媒体上的互动内容,把一段Twitch直播视频定格,视频显示两名受害人在被杀前几个小时曾在一辆餐车前停留。
They proposed a series of theories: that an ex-boyfriend had committed the crime, or a roommate of the victims, or a neighbor who had been doing interviews, or a man in a hoodie who was seen in the crowd in the Twitch video.
他们提出了一系列理论:凶手是某人的前男友,或者是受害者的室友,或者一直在接受采访的邻居,或者Twitch视频中出现在人群中的一个穿连帽衫的男子。
Some of the "suspects" -- college students whose only real connection to the crime was their friendship with the victims, and their own keen sense of loss -- became true crime villains overnight.
一些"嫌疑人"--也就是大学生,他们与案件唯一的真正联系是他们是受害人的朋友,以及他们因案件而深感丧友之痛--一夜之间变成了真正的犯罪恶人。
Ms. Chapin recalled her fury upon learning that some had been speculating that her son might have carried out the atrocity as part of a murder-suicide plan.
有人猜测查平的儿子可能实施了这些暴行,他杀人后再自杀,回想起这些时查平感到无比愤怒。
Even after a real suspect was arrested -- Bryan Kohberger, a Ph.D. student in criminology at a nearby university -- the sleuths continued to speculate, offering alternative theories despite DNA evidence and cellphone tracking data described by prosecutors as linking Mr. Kohberger to the crime.
即使在真正的嫌疑人被逮捕之后(嫌疑人是布莱恩·科伯格,他是附近一所大学的犯罪学博士生),侦探们仍在继续猜测,提出其他理论,尽管检方称DNA证据和手机跟踪数据都将科伯格与这起犯罪联系在一起。
For Ms. Chapin and much of the university community in the small town of Moscow, Idaho, the killing had left a wave of shock and grief in its wake.
对于查平和爱达荷州莫斯科小镇大学社区的大部分人而言,这起谋杀案让人们深陷震惊和悲痛之中。
At CrimeCon, she hoped her presence would help people remember what had been lost. She also wanted to connect with other victim families who were looking to find community and build support for a foundation that will award college scholarships in her son's honor.
在"真实犯罪案件爱好者大会"上,查平希望自己的出席能让人们记住这些失去的生命。她还想与其他寻求社群的受害人家庭建立联系,并且为一个基金会争取支持,查平想通过这个基金会颁发大学奖学金,作为对儿子的纪念。
She had not even had a chance to pick up her badge at the conference before a woman wearing a "Basically a Detective" T-shirt -- on sale in the gift shop -- approached Ms. Chapin to give her a tearful hug, thanking her for her grace and expressing sympathy for her loss.
查平还没来得及在大会上拿到徽章,就有一个穿着"基本上是侦探"T恤(礼品店有售)的女士向她走来,含泪拥抱了她,对她的善良仁慈表示感谢,并对她失去爱子表示同情。
At a meeting of family members of crime victims, she met relatives of Gabby Petito, who was killed by her fiancé in 2021 during a cross-country road trip. It was a case where true crime aficionados had found a chance to shine:
在犯罪受害者家属的一次聚会上,查平遇到了加比·佩蒂托的亲属,加比·佩蒂托于2021年在一次全国公路旅行中被未婚夫杀害。在这起案件中,真实犯罪爱好者找到了大放异彩的机会:
Ms. Petito's body was found after mass attention to the family's pleas for help on social media resulted in thousands of tips.
佩蒂托的家人在社交媒体上寻求帮助的请求吸引了众多网友的关注,随后出现了数千条线索,并使佩蒂托的尸体终于被找到。